Reference book cabinet



T. H- LYONS REFERENCE BOOK CABINET March 21, 1950 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 26, 1948.

N. flawkuwzw ATTO RNEY March 21, 1950 T. H. LYONS 2,501,608

REFERENCE BOOK CABINET I Filed Jan. 26, 1948 {Sheets-Sheet 2 HZVVENTOR.

Hawk/w [ta-MW ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 21, I950 UNITED STATES ()TFF'ICI'E' REFERENCE. B0 OKJCABINET."

Thomas H.11 Lyons;..Uni0n City,:"Indn.assignorztot Lyons-Moe, Incorporated-.3.Unionji'City, .Ind-.=,-,a corporation of Indiana Application "January 26, 1948, Serial No: 4,3I2

The. present invention relates to furniture and more particularly to a cabinet for containing 'a plurality of large-reference books which are kept normally retracted or enclosed in the cabinet but are maintained readily available for Withdrawal. to a position where they can be opened and supported. in open position.

While the-structure. is adapted to numerous uses, it is particularly and especially designedfor' use in industrialestablishments,- such for eX-i ample asautomobile' repair shops :andautomobile parts sales offices; Insuch establishments-it isnecessary to maintain a-large' stock' ofdifferent mechanical parts, all of-which are kept sorted in storage bins and all 'of which are indexed in loose leaf catalogues whiclr- -identify the -parts,- state their'storage locations, prices. uses, etc.

In the operation of such a businessit is neces sary to -make constant reference to such cata logues or books. Considerable difficulty has beenexperienced heretofore bymechanics, storekeepers and othersin keeping such 'books neat and ingood condition and readily accessible:

A-primaryobject of-the present invention is to provide an article-of furniture which will serve simultaneously as a counter or table on Whichbusiness may be transacted, bills andorders written, etc... and asacabinet for=housing books or catalogues and for rendering them quickly accessible for use.

Other objects-and advantages of the invention will appear from the-following'descriptiorr of=a preferred embodiment which-has been used'successiullyin actual practice and which is therefore at present-preferred as constituting the-best embodiment of the invention.

This preferred embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying. drawings which form part of this application for Letters Patent, in which Figure 1 is aperspective view, partly broken away, showing a cabinet constructed in accordance withthe principles ofthe invention, housing a plurality of books, certain of which are shown hung in retracted position and one of which is shown in opened position;

Fig. 2 is a detail cross-sectional view taken transversely through am upper portion of the cabinet;

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view showing one of, the, pivoted panels With'a book binding/attached; and

Fig. 4 is a detail longitudinal sectional view taken through the upper portion of the cabinet showing books hung in retracted position.

Generally speaking, the structure contem- 55 plated 'by theinvention comprises a cabinet, made appropriate height'and formed in part atleast-of a pl-urality of lpane'l elements wh'ich are mounted for swinging-about ahorizontaltaxise These elements have book bindihgssecured to them, and:

thebook 'pages are'secured in the bindingsz-so:

as normally to hang: in compartmentsprovided intlie'=upper portion= of*the cabinet The panels ar'e"rotatabl e -ind-ividually to swing: the depend ing books from within the compartments-to reston tlie top surface of' the--cabinet, Where they may be" opened and -their "leaves :turned 1 in the usual manner."

may '-be made =ofwood meta1= 011 the like in the manner 5 of any standard article-of commercial or v oiiice furniture? The lower "portion of the cabinet; which forms:

no=- part 0f the present invention, may include a storagevsp'ace 4, best shown in Fig.4, behind the lower rear wall 2. Thiswall may be made in one piece and hingedfor' opening, or: it may be -verticallydividedto provide in effect anumber of doors or closures-which may be opened to provide access to different parts ofthe space 4J This spaceis covered-=by a top: 5 which forms the roof- 'of the storage-space: d- 'and the floor of the book -compartments-which will now be-described.

These book compartments; each-of Which'is designated 65'- are. defined by -vertical partitions 7 which' lextend from -the-fioor5 =to the level ofthe' to'p wall =3bl the cabinet; The" compartments are -allopen at their -backs'=,--as-shown Fig. 1, and: thus I constitute stalls each of which '-is Y properly-proportioned -as" to'height, width and depth to contain a-referencebook 8.

The series of partitions l may-extend across the whole width of thecabinet: and the cabinet isipreferablv'about twice as deep'ifront to rear" dimension) as each "01 the books is high. The

front half of the cabinet has filler blocks or panels- SpermanentIy secured between the forwardparts of the partitions "I, so-as--to*foTmthrewiththe tions 1, and each of these panels is independently journaled for rotation on a long fixed shaft or rod II which is mounted in the two end walls I and passes successively through holes 12 in the panels IE and through similar holes 13 (Fig. 4) in the partitions 1. Thus the rod or shaft II is securely supported, and the panels H! are journalled for rotation on the rod.

The forward edge of each of the panels Hi and the rear edge of each of the fixed filler blocks 9 are complementally offset or rabbeted to provide a stepped joint, as shown at M, so that the offset provides an abutment for the swinging panel l limiting its rotation and holding it flush in the plane of the surface 3. However, the panel is free to be turned by lifting its rear edge [5, which will cause its offset forward edge to swing down into the compartment through approximately 180 until the rear edge l en ages the top of the rear edge of the adjacent filler block 9, as is indicated in Fig. 2 and as is shown in the case of the third panel from the left in Fig. 1.

Each book 8 includes any suitable type of binding IS, the back of which is secured, as by screws H, to the normally under side of one of the panels 10. The back may be made of metal or equivalent material and have hinged to it a pair of side covers, with cross-pins, rings or the like l8 for mounting the book leaves, all as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, to provide a well known type of loose leaf book construction.

It will be evident that each of the panels 10, when normally in its closed position, with its back or top surface flush with the top surface 3 of the cabinet and with its book 8 hanging in the compartment 8, may be rotated until the edge It is stopped by the rear edge of the adjacent filler block 9. This disposes the panel at a slightly inclined position, as is best shown in Fig. 2, whereupon the covers of the book automatically fall open, and the leaves are exposed for turning on the top of the cabinet structure, as shown in Fig. 1. With the book cover and leaves open, and extended across adjacent panels, the book is supported in a stable manner and the panel is kept from accidentally rotating back to retract the book. However, when it is desired to restore the book to the compartment, it is neces sary simply to close the book and turn the panel about the rod ll so that the book rotates back into its compartment.

The space directly beneath the surface 3 may be used to store extra books or other articles, in much the same way as the cabinet space behind the lower rear wall 2 is used. One suchstored book is shown at IS in Fig. 2.

It has been found in actual practice that the structure thus described provides a very practical and useful cabinet for housing industrial reference books and making them readily available for opening, for removal, or for change of pages. The books are kept neatly and normally withdrawn and protected, and at the same time the cabinet provides a useful working surface in the manner of a table or desk. The abutment M operates to hold the surfaces of the elements 3 and it! normally flush and level, and the panels it are not apt to be rotated accidentally because the normal pressure applied to them by a person standing behind the cabinet is pressure down on their rear edges l5. To assist in preventing undesired rotation of the panels, they may be made slightly unbalanced, by locating the rod II a little off center, with more of the weight of the closed panel at the rear edge l5, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This tends to keep the closed panel fiush with the surface 3.

The cabinet provided by the present invention will, it is believed, be found useful for purposes and in surroundings other than those which have been explained. Thus, with or without minor structural modifications, it may be used in libraries, business olfices, telephone centers, etc., wherever there is need for giving protective housing to a frequently used reference book or set of books in an article of furniture from which the books cannot be removed but 011 which they may be readily opened and consulted.

The structure may be modified in numerous respects within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims, and all such modifications, to the extent that they incorporate the inventive principles as defined by the claims, are to be deemed within the scope and purview thereof.

I claim:

1. A cabinet having a normally flat top including a forward fixed portion having a rear abutment surface and including a movable rear panel having a forward abutment surface, a bookcontaining compartment below the panel, means mounting the panel for pivotal rotation about a horizontal axis, and a book secured to the panel, hanging in the compartment, and unbalancing the panel to urge said abutment surfaces into engagement, said panel being rotatable about the pivot means to bring the rear edge of the panel into engagement with the rear edge of the fixed portion of the top with the book projected above the level of the top.

2. A cabinet having a normally flat top including a forward fixed portion having a rear abutment surface and including a movable rear panel having a forward abutment surface, a bookcontaining compartment below the panel, means mounting the panel for rotation about a horizontal axis nearer the forward edge than the rear edge of the panel whereby the panel is unbalanced and said abutment surfaces are urged into engagement, and a book secured to the panel, normally depending in the compartment, but rotatable with the panel so as to be projected above the level of the cabinet top with the rear edge of the panel resting on the rear edge of the forward fixed portion of the cabinet top.

THOMAS H. LYONS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,715,233 Haskin May 28, 1929 2,264,419 Unger Dec. 2, 1941 2,376,483 Hedenstrom May 22, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 494,465 Great Britain Oct. 26, 1938 

